William M. Marston (William Moulton Marston)

Biography

Cliftondale, Massachusetts, USA

Dr. William Moulton Marston was a man who managed to combine intersts several dissimilar fields into an idea that has lasted for decades. Marston was born and raised in Massachusetts. He earned a law degree in 1918 and got a Ph.D in Psychology from Harvard University in 1921. Long interested in finding a scientific way to prove a person's innocence, Marston invented the systolic blood-pressure test, which is the basis for the polygraph machine. While campaigning for the wider use of the lie-dectector in criminal cases, Marston became convinced from his studies that women were more honest and trustworthy than men. Read more... became an early feminist because of this belief, and championed the idea that women represented a peaceful force in society. In 1940, Marston was invited by then DC Comics publisheer Maxwell Charles Gaines to serve on an educational advisory board for DC. Marston was unhappy with the cliched male superhero, and suggested to Gaines that there was a need for a female superhero. Gaines was enthusiastic, and encouraged Marston to develop this character. That character, Wonder Woman, appeared in 1941, credited to Charles Molton (the name came from Gaines and Marston's middle names). Wonder Woman was extremely popular, and soon starred in her own eponymous comic. Marston continued to work on his creation until his early death from cancer in 1947. Wonder Woman lives on.